Chapter 699: The Flood Washes Away the Dragon King's Temple

"Luo Shui Guard?" Tao Tingfeng was dumbfounded. His uncle had told him about this organization, which was established by the imperial court specifically to deal with high-level cultivators.

He had initially just listened for amusement, never expecting them to come knocking on his door.

Yu Qian and two others simultaneously pulled out their tokens. The tokens were engraved with the characters 'Luo Shui'.

"'Concealing criminal proceeds? Me?'" Tao Tingfeng usually paid little attention to criminal law, forgetting what he heard as soon as he heard it. He never imagined he would suddenly find himself breaking the law.

Yu Qian's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at Tao Tingfeng. "'Tell me, how did you first meet True Monarch Guanqi, and how did you get the Golden Cicada Exuvia to recognize you as its master?'"

This was a secret technique of the Luo Shui Guard. If there was a significant disparity in cultivation levels, they could determine whether the other person was lying.

Shi Huagu also possessed a similar secret technique. He had used it previously when testing whether Lu Yang was part of the Heavenly Court sect, though the effect of Shi Huagu's technique was not as potent as the Luo Shui Guard's.

Tao Tingfeng braced himself and recounted the situation exactly as it had happened.

"'At the time, the True Monarch told me that this item was called the Golden Cicada Exuvia, and he had snatched it from a difficult opponent, instructing me to keep it safe...'"

"'I thought the True Monarch had died, so I wanted to make the Golden Cicada Exuvia recognize me as its master through a blood ritual...'"

"'Later, the True Monarch was still alive...'"

After listening, Yu Qian frowned slightly and asked sternly, "'So, you knew the Golden Cicada Exuvia was stolen, yet you still chose to keep it?'"

"'And after True Monarch Guanqi entered your spiritual space, you even provided him a place to recover?'"

"'This is simply preposterous! Do you have any idea how dangerous your actions were!'"

"'What did you think the Golden Cicada Exuvia was? It's something even cultivators in the Tribulation Crossing stage would covet. True Monarch Guanqi risked his life to steal it.'"

"'After making the Golden Cicada Exuvia recognize you as its master, you still dared to shelter him?'"

"'If he had recovered his physical body, the first thing he would have done was seize control of yours!'"

"'Did you really think he would be so kind as to teach you cultivation?'"

Yu Qian pulled out a book that detailed the various deeds of cultivators in the Integration stage in Daqian, and read aloud: "'True Monarch Guanqi, real name Du Guan, was born in the 82,281st year of the Daqian calendar. To advance to the Nascent Soul stage, he sacrificed the village where he was raised. During the Soul Transformation stage, he formed a cultivation partnership with a fellow cultivator of the same realm, only to later kill that partner to prove his Dao of Ruthlessness. In the early Integration stage, he was recorded committing murder and robbery three times; in the middle Integration stage... Later, realizing there was no hope of breaking through to the Tribulation Crossing stage, he dedicated himself to studying the hundred arts of cultivation.'"

Yu Qian closed the book and said earnestly, "'So, you were helping this kind of person and cultivating under his guidance?'"

"'I, I... I just thought he was easy to talk to, and I assumed he was a good person...'"

Yu Qian interrupted Tao Tingfeng's defense. "'When you say "good person," are you referring to him robbing the Golden Cicada Exuvia?'"

"'Heh heh, cultivators of Daxia, I didn't expect you to investigate me so thoroughly,' True Monarch Guanqi chuckled sinisterly."

"'Du Guan, the crimes you committed in Daqian are historical issues, and Daxia does not interfere with them. However, robbing a Dayu cultivator within Daxia's borders constitutes the crime of robbery.'"

"'Not murder?'" True Monarch Guanqi knew that if he fell into Daxia's hands, he wouldn't survive, as he had committed more than just robbery.

"'Murder? Are you referring to killing the Dayu cultivator? Unfortunately, the other party is not dead; we just haven't located him yet. As for the two companions you killed, that was self-defense and does not constitute a crime.'"

The infighting between True Monarch Guanqi and his two companions caused too much commotion, attracting the attention of the imperial court. By the time the court arrived, True Monarch Guanqi had just escaped, and his two companions were left, one dead and one severely injured.

The severely injured person was beyond saving, so the Luo Shui Guard performed an emergency soul-search on him, learning the full sequence of events.

The identity of the robbed Dayu cultivator was unknown. They only knew he had recently awakened and was still in recovery. True Monarch Guanqi, having somehow learned of this, had teamed up with two companions to rob the Dayu cultivator.

After True Monarch Guanqi fled, the severely injured companion saw that the Dayu cultivator was also seriously wounded but still had some strength left. He then dispersed his cultivation to rebuild it and fled, which led to this entire series of events.

They were also searching for that Dayu cultivator, as they needed to locate the victim.

The Dayu cultivator had fled north, while True Monarch Guanqi had fled south. The Luo Shui Guard split into two groups.

Yu Qian was surprised that she had found True Monarch Guanqi, but the victim was still missing.

Yu Qian said to Tao Tingfeng earnestly, "'Whether you are guilty of harboring criminals still requires further investigation, but you are suspected of concealing criminal proceeds, so you need to come with us.'"

Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou sighed inwardly. They had known Tao Tingfeng was in trouble the moment they saw him make the Golden Cicada Exuvia recognize him through a blood ritual. They had been observing ever since, wanting to see if the young man would realize the gravity of the situation.

At this point, further observation was unnecessary.

"'Let's go, this isn't over yet.'"

Panting heavily—

The dirty young man who had once appeared at the barbecue stall was now frantically running out of the city.

For the past half-month, he had been working in the city, saving money to buy himself a clean set of clothes. In another half-month, he would have enough money to take a flying boat to his destination.

"'I don't know if those three Daxia cultivators are here to catch me, but to be safe, I should run first.'"

The young man felt truly unlucky. He hadn't provoked anyone. He had only recently awakened from his slumber in Dayu, and already three Daqian cultivators had come to his door to steal the Golden Cicada Exuvia.

This was his trump card in the great struggle of the world. How could he simply hand it over?

After the battle, he not only lost the Golden Cicada Exuvia but was also forced to disperse his cultivation and rebuild it to save his life.

"'Unlucky!'"

Suddenly, he stopped short.

"'Kid, you run pretty fast.'"

Two figures stood like a wall before the young man.

It was Lu Yang and Meng Jingzhou.

Even back at the barbecue stall, they had noticed something unusual about the young man. His walking posture and breathing were different from ordinary people, indicating he definitely had a cultivation foundation.

At that time, they had suspected he had dispersed his cultivation to rebuild it, but they had no proof.

Now that the Luo Shui Guard had arrived and this kid was running, he must have dispersed his cultivation to rebuild it!

This was a performance bonus delivered right to their doorstep. "Let's see if Senior Brother Dai still says they only cause trouble when they go out!"

"'What do you want?!'" The young man immediately recognized that both figures were cultivators. Since he was currently a mortal, he definitely couldn't fight them.

"'What do we want?'" Meng Jingzhou sneered, stretched his limbs, and dragged the young man to an abandoned courtyard. "'Tell us, are you an ancient cultivator who dispersed your cultivation to rebuild it?'"

"'N-no!'" the young man stammered, bracing himself.

"'Oh, you won't admit it? Hang him up!'" Lu Yang pulled a leather whip from his identity jade token and tugged it twice to check its strength.

This was a questioning method Lu Yang had learned from his Senior Sister.

Meng Jingzhou wisely found a rope, tied the young man up, and hung him from a tree.

The whip cracked loudly as it cut through the air. The sound made the young man's scalp tingle. Seeing the ferocious expressions on the two men's faces, he knew his life would be in danger if he didn't confess.

"'Don't hit me, don't hit me! I'll confess.'"

"'Tell us, what era are you from, and what is your name!'"

"'I am a cultivator from the Dayu period, my Daoist title is Innate Daoist.'"